Roche : clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the new ACCU-CHEK® Nano SmartView blood glucose monitoring system

01.11.2012 - Innovative, small, no code device will be available to people with diabetes in the U.S. in first half of 2012  

Roche announced that it has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its ACCU-CHEK® Nano SmartView blood glucose monitoring system.The new ACCU-CHEK Nano meter, which is smaller than a standard credit card, employs a large brilliant backlit display and does not require any manual coding or code key for enhanced ease of use. It also offers improved functions such as customizable test reminders, pre- and postmeal markers and average glucose calculation. The ACCU-CHEK Nano meter uses ACCU-CHEK® SmartView test strips and will be available to customers in the first half of 2012.

“We are very excited to bring this latest blood glucose monitoring technology to the United States,” said Luc Vierstraete, Global Head of Roche Diabetes Care. “The ACCU-CHEK Nano meter is the newest advancement in Roche’s more than 35-year commitment to bring state-of-the-art innovations to people with diabetes and their caregivers, and continues our promise to enabling optimal diabetes management. This new system will help us to further leverage and enhance our position in this important market.”... Roche's Press Release -

Eisai and EIDIA : Launch of LIFE CHECK, a Self-monitoring Blood Glucose Meter That is Easy for Elderly Diabetes Patients to Use

January 19, 2012 - Eisai Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo, President & CEO: Haruo Naito, “Eisai”) and its diagnostics subsidiary EIDIA Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo, President & CEO: Keisuke Watanabe, “EIDIA”) announced that EIDIA will launch LIFE CHECK, a self-monitoring blood glucose meter manufactured by Gunze Limited (Headquarters: Osaka, President & CEO: Hiroshi Hirata, “Gunze”), on January 27, 2012.

LIFE CHECK is a personal self-monitoring blood glucose meter with which diabetes patients can monitor their own blood glucose level by simply inserting a dedicated sensor known as the LIFE CHECK SENSOR into the meter. The meter was developed as a next-generation model of the blood glucose monitor G-CHECK currently manufactured by Gunze and marketed by EIDIA. While Gunze received approval to manufacture and market LIFE CHECK in August 2011, the system will be distributed and marketed by EIDIA and co-promoted by Eisai.

The LIFE CHECK meter employs a color liquid crystal screen that displays step-by-step operational instructions and easy-to-read graphs of measured data. After measurement, the dedicated sensor can be easily and safely removed from the meter with the push of a button without the patient having to touch the part to which their blood has been applied... Eisai's Press Release -

GE Selects Bionime to Launch Innovative Diabetes Solutions

17 January 2012 - Bionime will offer innovative GE-branded clinical and home-based patient care products for the rapidly growing global diabetes population -

GE (NYSE: GE) announced it has entered into a new worldwide licensing agreement with Bionime, a global leader in biotechnology medical testing, to provide new GE-branded solutions for the diabetes market.

According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 346 million people worldwide have diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the fastest growing chronic disease in the world. Through this agreement, Bionime will deliver GE-branded blood glucose monitors, test strips, kits and related diabetes accessories.



The first product to be launched is the GE100 Blood Glucose Monitoring System, available now through durable medical equipment suppliers and on retail shelves in 2012. The GE100 utilizes advanced patented strip technology to achieve a high level of accuracy and precision and a unique, innovative strip design that makes it easier to use and more sanitary for the consumer than current similar offerings. In addition, patented True Auto Coding Technology eliminates the need to code each strip lot without sacrificing the accuracy of the readings. The GE100 provides an easy, clean and accurate way to test blood glucose levels of people living with diabetes... GE Healthcare's Press Release - Bionime's Press Release -

PhaseBio : Positive Clinical Results with its Once Weekly GLP-1 analogue, Glymera

November 15, 2011 - For the Treatment of Hyperglycemia in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes -

PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced positive results from its Phase I/IIa single and multiple ascending dose clinical study with Glymera™, a recombinant glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue for the treatment of hyperglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes. In a dose dependent manner, Glymera™ demonstrated highly statistically significant reductions in fasting glucose glycemic load following meal tolerance testing, and average daily glucose measured through continuous glucose monitoring following 4 weeks of dosing.

“Currently approved GLP-1 analogues in the US need to be given at least once a day. Our intent was to develop a long acting product that would provide full 24/7 coverage and we are extremely pleased to have such robust results this early in the development of Glymera™ that supports a weekly dosing regimen and plan to aggressively move Glymera™ through the development process” said Lynne Georgopoulos, Senior Vice President Clinical Development at PhaseBio...PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals' Press Release -

AstraZeneca : Option Agreement to Acquire New Class of Diabetes Assets from Prosidion

20th December, 2011 – AstraZeneca and Prosidion Limited, a fully-owned subsidiary of Astellas Pharma Inc. (Tokyo: 4503,”Astellas”), announced that they entered into an option agreement, under which Prosidion grants to AstraZeneca an exclusive option to acquire the Phase II clinical and pre-clinical assets, PSN821 and PSN 842 respectively, for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Both PSN821 and PSN842 are orally administered G protein-coupled receptor GPR119 agonists, a potential new class of medicines for diabetes.

PSN821 is currently in a Phase-II clinical trial for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. It has been shown in pre-clinical disease models to substantially lower blood glucose, reduce food intake and bodyweight and therefore has the potential to be a valued addition to the future treatments for type 2 diabetes. PSN842 is currently poised to enter clinical trials to treat type 2 diabetes.

Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca will pay Prosidion an undisclosed, non-refundable option fee. The exercise of the option will be dependent upon the successful results of the Phase-IIa clinical trial of PSN821 and the evaluation of pre-clinical work. In the event that AstraZeneca exercises the option, AstraZeneca would acquire the assets from Prosidion and would pay an undisclosed, pre-specified upfront payment and milestone payments... AstraZeneca's Press Release - [PDF] Astellas' Press Release -